Survey: Retailers Using Mobile POS Expected to Triple By 2018

Monday, 21 Oct 2013 | 9:37 AM ETGlobe Newswire

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OMAHA, Neb., Oct. 21, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The number of retailers using mobile point-of-sale technology will triple over the next five years, according to a report released today by Infogroup Targeting Solutions.

While only 26 percent of retailers have mobile POS systems deployed today, more than half of the retail executives surveyed for the study said they plan to implement the technology by 2018. Only 23 percent said they have no plans to ditch their cash registers in favor of a mobile checkout strategy that would allow them to complete transactions from anywhere in the store, instantly check inventory, and accept payments from smartphones and digital wallets.

"The adoption of mobile POS is a great way to capture valuable customer information, but our survey revealed that retailers struggle with using the data that they already have," said Don Patrick, president of ITS, which provides data and multichannel marketing solutions. "Retailers must also invest in analytics to maximize ROI and improve the customer experience."

The survey reveals similar findings for purchasing through social media channels. While only 24 percent currently allow customers to make purchases directly through Facebook and other social channels, 46 percent plan to deploy the technology by 2018.

Surprisingly, almost 40 percent of retailers say they have no plans to implement free Wi-Fi for customers. The survey finding comes on the heels of J.C. Penney eliminating its public wireless access last month because of cost and a lack of customer use.

"Some retailers require the bandwidth provided by free Wi-Fi because they're developing sophisticated personalization strategies," said Michael Penney, managing director of agency services for Infogroup. "Others either don't have a marketing need right now or think that Wi-Fi will become unnecessary as cellular networks advance."

Struggling with Big Data

The ITS report also finds that retailers are struggling to implement Big Data strategies. Respondents indicated that real-time offers and up-to-the-minute information about customers also remain elusive:

Almost half of survey respondents (47 percent) identified effectively using current customer data as their biggest marketing challenge, easily the top choice.

Forty-seven percent of retailers are unable to use real-time data to generate customer offers. Only 23 percent are frequently sending out real-time offers.

Only 37 percent of retailers provide a consistent marketing message across all channels. Half coordinate marketing messages across some but not all channels, and 13 percent market separately within each channel.

Retailers remain wedded to transactional and purchase history information, with 58 percent ranking it as the most valuable type of customer data. Only 5 percent identify social media data as the top priority.

To download the full report, "Breaking Through Customer Engagement Barriers with Innovative Marketing and Technologies," click here.